"You never know where they will send you"

Close to the runway of Lelystad Airport is the Police Academy's Centre for Enforcement and Mobility. Today, eighteen officers will be taught there by Yteke Elte from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine about animal health, animal welfare and the collaboration with vets. Elte: "I can't turn them into vets with this course, but I can help them make an informed assessment at the scene in terms of animal health and animal welfare."

The class starts by looking back at a training day that took place previously at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, including a visit to teaching farm De Tolakker. It was there that some officers first came into contact with a cow, chicken, horse or sheep. One of the course participants looks back on that hands-on afternoon: "I did find it a bit uncomfortable being among all those sheep. I wonder if I'll ever get used to that!"

Animal welfare at risk

Currently, over three hundred police officers form part of the ‘wildlife police’, or DCG. These are officers who, in addition to their day-to-day duties, respond to reports where the welfare of an animal may be at risk, or where wildlife-related crime is involved. This can be anything from a dog that is locked in a car on a hot day to illegal trafficking of animals. It is up to the officer themselves to make the proper judgement at the scene.

Anouk Duijnker, operations specialist at DCG explains: "You can only decide whether something is wrong if you understand what animal welfare involves. It’s also about getting up close to different species of animal. If you’ve never seen a horse up close before and an officer responds to a report about a horse, you’re suddenly faced with quite a large animal. Dealing with that is something they also learn during the course. We also want officers to understand the position a vet holds. If you know what to expect from the vet, then working together and sharing information is easier too."

It’s very important that vets and officers engage in a dialogue

Engage in a dialogue

During the class, equine vet Yteke Elte discusses the topic from different angles, based on the external characteristics of an animal in distress, for example, or environmental factors that may be relevant. One of the key objectives of the course is to ensure that course participants build lasting relationships with vets within their field of work. There may be various situations where the support of and collaboration with a vet is required, ranging from emergency assistance to deployment as an expert witness. The National Animal Welfare Inspectorate and NVWA (Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) also play an important role in this collaboration. During the class, Elte puts herself in the role of vet in each case, demonstrating how a vet acts in professional practice and the factors that they take into account. Elte: "That makes you more credible. I’ve been through a lot of situations in professional practice that I can talk about. Fundamentally, it’s important for vets and officers to engage in a dialogue with each other."

Elte continues: "Officers are often first at the scene. It’s crucial that they’re able to make the right assessment of the situation. I can’t turn them into vets with this course, but I can help them make an informed assessment of animal health and welfare at the scene."

Illegal breeding of dogs

Peter van Beurden lectures on, examines and develops the course at the Police Academy. Van Beurden: "Since 2019, we’ve been looking carefully at potential areas for improvement in the course. It’s important to respond to what’s going on at the time: for example, we’re getting more and more reports of illegal breeding of dogs with various health problems and abnormal behaviour. To counteract this, we’re working more regularly with the NVWA. Other network partners, such as the Mendoo Foundation [devotes itself to victims of domestic violence and their pets, ed.], will also give a presentation as part of the course. That way, course participants will know who they can turn to in practice and what the relationships are."

Officer Gerard van Keulen started getting more involved with the wildlife police six months ago. "I’ve always found it interesting: the legislation, the different situations. You never know where they will send you." He has noticed that some suspicious situations are not always reported, or are reported too late. "I sometimes wish people would report suspected animal cruelty more often, and sooner. If it turns out that nothing is wrong, it's not a problem and you just have a conversation with the people involved."

Van Beurden agrees. "We’re all human beings, even the police, so we’re approachable. If there are situations that bystanders or vets are unsure about, I would urge them to raise the alarm! Ultimately, the welfare of the animal is key."

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